“I’d bat No.11, if I had to.”
“I was just waiting for an opportunity,” he said, having spent 17 Tests on the outside looking in, instead carrying drinks, bowling his tidy home-spun offies in the nets and, ironically, often batting first in pre-match sessions.
“And wherever that was, in the order, I was going to snap their hands off for it,” he added. “So I’m just going to enjoy these few weeks and hopefully score some runs and put my name in the hat for future selection.”
A month captaining London Spirit has clearly given Lawrence a professional level of diplomacy. Then again, when your last Test appearance came on a depressing tour of West Indies, months before the breakout Bazball summer of 2022, why wouldn’t you be appreciative of an invite to the party? Even the recently retired James Anderson, fresh from a month commentating on the Hundred, was donning keeping gloves on the Emirates Old Trafford turf during Monday’s training session as the quicks tore in on a practice strip from the end bearing his name. He was eventually relieved of those duties once Jamie Smith had finished batting in the nets.
That’s not to say Lawrence is anything but sincere in his desire for an opportunity, or that England are simply rewarding his perfect attendance over the past two years. Truth be told, everything that this team has been since 2022, even in a summer where they are veering away from their previous brat ways, is very Lawrence. Outlandish strokeplay wedded with bloody-mindedness. A ruthless take on carefree abandon. Everything in moderation, including moderation.
That did not quite translate to his first stanza with England, in part because Lawrence was trying to make his way during the dregs of Joe Root’s era, most of which was levelled in the great rebuild. That he has four half-centuries and five ducks speaks appropriately to that indifferent start. It also explains why, despite only operating as an opener in seven out of his 203 red-ball innings, he views this week as a new beginning.
“I think in my first stint, I showed glimpses of what I can do. I was certainly fairly inconsistent. There were definitely some glimpses of what I can do. And there was some low scores as well in there, but I think that all came with being quite young. I wasn’t completely sure of my game at that time.
“And, yeah, I look back on it, and I’ve got some really good memories, and I’ve got some memories where I thought it was really challenging. So I’m treating this as a bit of a fresh start.”
It is not a stretch to suggest that, had Sri Lanka won more than three of their last 11 away Tests since the start of 2021 – all those against Bangladesh, too – Lawrence’s wait for a starting berth may have gone on. And it is not unthinkable that this all ends in pretty unedifying fashion. Sri Lanka’s seamers operate with full, attacking lines by default and are likely to have conditions in their favour with a bleak summer set to peter out in dank fashion, starting in Manchester (of course). And, well, there’s the very real fact that Lawrence just isn’t an opener.
In a recent column in the Daily Telegraph, Michael Vaughan articulated his justified reservations over the selection, while highlighting Lawrence’s strengths. “Well, thankfully it’s not up to me to make those decisions,” came Lawrence’s understandable response when the former England captain’s thoughts were put to him. “I got asked to open the batting, and I’m definitely going to say yes. So obviously people are going to have their opinions, but I’m obviously chuffed to get the opportunity.”
Nevertheless, Lawrence is finally through the door for his first taste of Test cricket under the jurisdiction of Brendon McCullum and Stokes, albeit in a stand-in capacity as Ollie Pope takes the reins. And he is glad for it.
“I think ultimately, the best thing about this environment is allowing players – or new players – to go out there and be as free as possible,” Lawrence said at the end of his media engagements. “Whereas, necessarily, in the past, it might not have been like that.
“But watching all the boys go out there and debut and take five-fors and score loads of runs, it’s quite evident that boys are going out there and just relaxing and having a good time. And that’s what I’m going to try and do.”
Vithushan Ehantharajah is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo